Israel denies 'Prisoner X' Zygier was in contact with ASIO

Ruth Pollard in Jerusalem

Seeking to put an end to speculation that the Australian suspected of spying for Mossad was arrested for also passing information to ASIO, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied Ben Zygier had any contact with Australia's intelligence agency.

In a statement released overnight, Mr Netanyahu's office stressed ''the late Mr Zygier had no contact with the Australian security agencies''.

Some media reports suggested that 34-year-old Ben Zygier, a dual Australian-Israeli citizen, was arrested by Israeli security services for giving intelligence to ASIO officials about Mossad's practice of using Australian passports to spy in countries hostile to Israel.

Mr Netanyahu also moved to hose down any possibility of a rift between Australia and Israel, with his office stating there is ''excellent co-operation, full co-ordination and complete transparency in dealing with current issues'' between the two countries.

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It is the first time the Israeli government has mentioned Mr Zygier by name since the ABC's Foreign Correspondent report identified him as ''Prisoner X'' in a report last Tuesday.

Fairfax Media revealed that Mr Zygier, who had migrated to Israel in 2000 and regularly travelled back to Australia to change his name and passport at least three times, was under ASIO surveillance at the time of his arrest in February 2010 and was suspected, along with two other dual Australian-Israeli citizens, of spying for Mossad.

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Earlier on Tuesday, Israel's Ministry of Justice also partially released a report on Mr Zygier's death by Judge Daphna Blatman Kedrai.

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The report found he removed a sheet from his bed and went to the shower where he believed he would be out of the gaze ofhis prison guards. It was here he was found hanged at 8.19pm on December 15, 2010.

The New York Times reported there was a hint of a sedative in his stomach, and a wound on his left hand, but neither contributed to his death, which was caused by asphyxiation.

The partial release – published in repose to a media application to the Supreme Court to further lift the gag order on the details of Mr Zygier's arrest, detention and death – shed more light on the final minutes of his life, but left many unanswered questions.

''I have found evidence allegedly suggesting the fault of elements in the Israel Prison Service,'' Judge Blatman Kedrai wrote in her report that was completed on December 19, 2012.

''The duties placed on the [Israel Prison Service] in connection to the deceased were particularly complex given the cloak of secrecy, gaps in information and compartmentalisation,'' she wrote.

Justice Kedrai concluded that the prisoner's death was a suicide and not ''caused by a criminal act,'' according to The New York Times.

''There was no disagreement that a willing act of the deceased is what brought about his suicide,'' wrote the judge.

''Nevertheless, orders to prevent suicide were given and the elements entrusted with guarding the prisoner were aware of them. These orders were not upheld and a 'window of opportunity' was used by the deceased to commit suicide.''

The cause of death, according to the report of a doctor, Ricardo Nachman, mentioned in the judge's report, was the result of asphyxiation caused by a noose being tightened around his neck.

After attempting to supress the story of the months-long solitary confinement and death of Mr Zygier, firstly by a court issued gag order and then via pressure from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the editors of Israel's media, the government appears to have accepted it can no longer stay silent on the issue.

Some senior ministers, such as the Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz have publicly criticised the decision to withhold information about Mr Zygier's case from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, however, Mr Netanyahu continues to defend the decision.

There are now two further inquiries into matter – the State Attorney's office is looking into the allegations of negligence on behalf of the Prison Service, while a sub-committee of the Knesset is conducting its own inquiry.